HC Deb 15 March 1922 vol 151 cc2219-20W
Mr. BRIANT

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what would be the approximate saving in expenditure if the recommendations in the Geddes Report with regard to Pembroke, Gibraltar, Rosyth, and Chatham Dockyards were carried out; and whether he proposes to act upon those recommendations?

Commander EYRES-MONSELL

The approximate saving in expenditure would be£560,000 a year, but owing to the fact that the existence of the whole community at Pembroke depends uniquely on the dockyard, which, in the present conditions of trade and employment, cannot be disposed of for commercial purposes, and to the fact that the other yards referred to are still considered necessary for repairs to the Fleet, it is not proposed to close them entirely, but to realise as much saving as possible by retaining them on a reduced basis.